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Batman (Bruce Wayne)
Bruce Wayne was born to the wealthy doctor Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha, who were themselves members of the prestigious Wayne and Kane families of Gotham City, respectively. When he was very young, Bruce's mother Martha was expecting a second child to be named Thomas Wayne, Jr. However, because of her intent to found a school for the underprivileged in Gotham, she was targeted by the manipulative Court of Owls, who arranged for her to get into a car accident. She and Bruce survived, but the accident forced Martha into premature labour, and the baby was lost. While on vacation to forget about these events, the Wayne Family butler, Jarvis Pennyworth was killed by one of the Court of Owls' Talons. A letter he'd written to his son Alfred, warning him away from the beleaguered Wayne family, was never delivered. As such, Alfred - who had been an actor at the Globe Theatre at the time and a military medic before that, travelled to Gotham City to take up his father's place, serving the Waynes as butler. As he grew older, his family's reputation made Bruce restless, and he began sneaking out of school to visit Gotham City, where he wouldn't be so easily recognized. On one such outing, he was picked up by Officer Jim Gordon and his partner on their patrol. En route back to the station, Bruce witnessed Jim accepting a trenchcoat as a bribe from a tailor - though neither realized it was a bribe at the time - but Bruce would remember it as an indicator of Jim's character. After his parents came to retrieve him, the Waynes went to see the Mark of Zorro at the Monarch Theater. After the film, a mugger named Joe Chill attempted to rob them at gunpoint, and panicked, shooting both Thomas and Martha dead. - After their deaths, Bruce became obsessed with the search for meaning in their loss. He thought perhaps the mythical Court of Owls was responsible, but he never found anything to prove it. Troubled by grief, Bruce attempted to erase his memory with electroshock therapy, but chose not to go through with it, and to use his pain as a motivator. At the age of 18, he sought out Joe Chill, and learned that he had simply needed the money, and there was no deeper meaning to his parents' deaths. Travels and Training Fuelled by the loss of his parents, Bruce began training in martial arts and sword-fighting. After he learned the truth about Joe Chill, Bruce began travelling the world, learning the arts of stunt-driving, invention , and intimidation. Near the end of his travels, Bruce went to the Himalayas to train with Shihan Matsuda, who taught him to fight with the katana. He soon struck up a romance with the sword-sharpener's daughter, Mio. Matsuda warned him against creating personal ties with others, and to embrace his darker side. Matsuda's wife, though encouraged it, and because of Bruce's feelings for her, he inadvertently let an assassin into the Matsuda household. In the following course of events, Bruce discovered that Mio had been hired by Matsuda's wife to seduce him and then kill Matsuda. Both women and Matsuda himself were gravely injured, but before he died, Matsuda warned him that death is what would come of fostering close personal relationships. Taking this lesson to heart, and after three long years of absence, Bruce finally returned to Gotham. The Zero Year With only his mission in mind and no care for his legacy as a Wayne, Bruce moved himself out of Wayne Manor and into a brownstone on Park Row from which he based his early attempts to infiltrate the Red Hood Gang after only six weeks back. Despite trying to remain off the grid, Bruce's uncle Philip Kane had kept tabs on him and had also gained control of Wayne Enterprises in Bruce's absence, hiring strategist Edward Nygma, who advised him to have Bruce killed if he wouldn't play ball. Philip outed Bruce's return to the media. When Bruce refused to return to the company while his uncle was selling weapons, Nygma advised Philip to have Bruce killed, and the Red Hood Gang soon attempted just that by blowing up Bruce's brownstone with him inside. Injured, Bruce crawled back to Wayne Manor and, in his father's study, decided to take on the appearance of a bat. Using the fact that he was outed to his advantage, Bruce called a press conference outside the ACE Chemical plant to expose the Red Hood Gang's plans to the media. The gang attempted to disrupt it, and inside the plant, Bruce used a blackout to debut the Batsuit. Through blackmail, Philip was recruited into the Red Hood Gang, and when he failed to kill the Batman, he was shot dead. In fighting with Red Hood One, Batman knocked the man into a vat of chemicals, and he was thought dead. Despite having won that battle, Nygma returned to detonate an EMP blast that left the entire city in the dark. Commissioner Loeb declared the Batman a vigilante criminal as Bruce began investigating a series of murders committed by a disgruntled Waynetech employee, while building a jammer to prevent another EMP attack when power was restored. The ex-employee, Dr. Karl Helfern was challenging enough that Batman allied himself begrudgingly with Jim Gordon, and together they learned that Helfern was the Riddler's pawn. -#27 Their plan to defeat both men failed, and the jammer was destroyed such that when the power was restored, the Riddler stole complete control of the power grid, shutting it down and flooding the city. and In the following months, the city fell into ruin, with the Riddler nightly challenging the citizens to best him with a riddle in order to earn back civilization. Allying with Jim Gordon and Lucius Fox, Batman planned to locate the Riddler by piggybacking his signal during the challenge. The plan failed, but Batman managed to find the Riddler in the place they'd first met, and best him in a battle of wits, both restoring power and saving the city from an inevitable air-strike. Afterwards, Bruce and Lucius began rebuilding Wayne Enterprises, and Jim Gordon was promoted to Commissioner in Loeb's stead. -#33 Cross World Early in their careers, Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent met in Gotham City as the latter investigated a series of murders of Wayne Enterprises employees. They later encountered each other as Batman and Superman, distrusting one another, and then being sent to Earth 2 another universe entirely through the machinations of Kaiyo the Trickster. There, they encountered older, more competent versions of themselves. -#2 Kaiyo revealed the nature of Darkseid to them all, and explained that the other world's Batman had been harbouring a dangerous weapon in the form of a Chaos Shard, which came from a much larger crystal that the US Government had been keeping hidden. Kaiyo believed that this shard would be all that could save either world from Darkseid. The Batmen and Supermen of both worlds fought over the crystal until it was destroyed. With this outcome, Kaiyo determined that only Bruce's world would survive, and took up residence there, wiping the memories of all involved. The Justice League While investigating the appearance of Parademons, Batman encountered Green Lantern for the first time, and the two teamed up. Believing them to be aliens, the pair sought Superman for answers, and he attacked them, thinking they were a threat, prompting Lantern to call on The Flash for help until Superman was convinced of their good intentions. Joined by Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Cyborg in fighting off the Parademons attack, the team soon learned that Darkseid of Apokolips was behind the invasion. -#4 It was Batman who convinced the heroes to work together as a team, and then secretly travelled to Apokolips in search of a kidnapped Superman, whom he then rescued from Darkseid's torturers. Upon their return to Earth, they forced Darkseid back to his homeworld, and received praise and recognition. Batman insisted that they remain a team in order to maintain public approval. Early Adventures The Big Burn flashbacks/Carmine Falcone stuff goes here. Knightfall? Contagion? The Batman Family Having created a prototypical version of it during the Zero Year, Jim Gordon took the risk of placing a Bat-Signal on the roof of the GCPD precinct. At its first lighting, each of the children who would one day join the Batman looked up at it in wonder. During the first year of his career, Bruce took in young Dick Grayson after his parents were murdered by Tony Zucco. Without knowing Bruce's secret, Dick would sneak out at night, hunting Zucco, and the Batman would be there to protect him every time. Eventually, he allowed Dick to see the Batcave, and Dick revealed that he'd already deduced his warden's dual identity. With the common goal of justice, the pair began fighting crime as Batman and Robin. Within another year, Barbara Gordon was trapped within her father's precinct building during a terrorist attack by a criminal awaiting extradition. As the police had been building a prototype Batsuit in order to prove the Batman was just a man, Barbara put it on and fought off the criminal using her gymnastic ability in order to protect her younger brother James, Jr. Her actions caught the real Batman's attention, and over time, she ingratiated herself with him, and he took her on as Batgirl. After just one year, she decided that she should focus on her studies, and quit. Despite that, her father's position still made her a target, and she was shot by The Joker and remained paralyzed for three years. Following Barbara's injury, Dick decided to quit being Robin and moved on to a new identity for himself as Nightwing. Sometime after that, Batman caught orphan Jason Todd trying to steal prescription drugs from Dr. Leslie Thompkins, and the doctor pleaded with him to keep Jason from the police. So, Batman took him to Wayne Manor to be looked after by Alfred Pennyworth. In the hope of getting Jason to turn over a new leaf, Bruce confessed his identity, explaining how he'd turned his pain into something good, and offered Jason the role of Robin. After training for several months, Jason learned to put his emotions into fighting crime. However, he was soon lured into chasing a woman he believed to be his mother to the middle east - a setup by the Joker. Jason was killed before Batman could save him. Eventually, Batman learned of Tim Drake - a talented young gymnast who had become obsessed with discovering his identity. After being pressed by Alfred to confront the boy, he listened as Tim announced his intention to become the new Robin. Batman warned him off, which only spurred on his quest. He began trying to gain Batman's attention by electronically stealing funds from The Penguin, who found out and targeted his home. Tim and his family were saved, but they were forced into witness protection, leaving Tim in the care of Batman, who begrudgingly agreed to take him on as Robin. Instead of taking that role, Tim devised the role of Red Robin, choosing not to be a Robin out of deference for Jason Todd. Having encountered Ra's al Ghul and the League of Assassins some time ago, and fallen in love with his daughter Talia, Bruce was surprised years later when Talia came to Gotham and introduced him to his son, Damian, whom she had grown in a lab at an accelerated rate and trained to lead the League from birth. She intended for Bruce to train their son in the ways she could not, and in the hope of curbing his homicidal tendencies, he took on the boy as Robin to keep a close eye on him. The Court of Owls Timeline: Before the shooting Thomas proposed to Martha in Greece, and they took their honeymoon in Barcelona. When Bruce was very young, his parents spent a while at a hotel where Martha worked on a painting, which he ruined with his hand print. Thomas asked that the painting be kept up in the hotel forever. After the shooting - seventeen years ago (from "2014"), the Waynes were shot. - Bruce had a relationship with Julie Madison, but something happened to her. Training and early years - 13 years ago (four years after the shooting), Bruce began training in martial arts. (backup) - at 19 years of age, Bruce was doing stunt-driving training in Rio de Janeiro with a man called Miguel. Nine years ago, according to Secret Origins #2 (but that conflicts with the age listed here). (backup) - at 21 years of age, Bruce learned the art of invention from a Cold War era scientist named Sergei Alexandrov. He also learned that the power to do the impossible through invention allows him to create wonders - a principle he would later use in his leadership of Wayne Enterprises. 11 years ago (6 years after the shooting) according to . Seven years ago (SO#2) he trained in swordfighting. (Backup) - 24 years old, trained in Norway with "the queen" (eyepatch?) and though he was supposed to be learning that he can't win a war without killing, he won instead by instilling fear into every would-be combatant. Cool. - ten years ago, bruce training in the himalayas (Mio and the league of assassins introduced BTS - confirmed in Detective #21). Backup is 7 years ago (3 years training?) when bruce returns to gotham. The bat-family - Backup is set 5 years ago, explaining how all of the bat-family members were inspired by Batman's existence. The Bat-signal existed. - Dick becomes Robin somewhere in that first year. - Four years ago, Barbara became Batgirl. After one year, she gave it up for her studies and was shot by the joker. Three years later, she was healed and returned. According to , Barbara was 17 at the time she was shot, making her 21 years old today (adding on the year since the Joker disappeared). - (three years ago?) takes place sometime after Nightwing #0 and after Barbara's injury. - (two years ago?) Jason's death was fairly recent as of this story. - 18 months ago, Bruce and Damian meet for the first time. storylines # Zero Year (BM) # The Big Burn (flashbacks) (BM&R) # Faces of Death (DC) - Joker disappears/removes face. # Born to Kill (BM&R) - Damian kills # Knight Terrors (TDK) - not important. # Court of Owls (BM) - Biggest deal. # Night of the Owls (BM/All) - follows from previous. # Scare Tactics (DC) - not important. # Pearl (BM&R) - relationship with Damian improves. # Cycle of Violence (TDK) - not important. # City of Owls (BM) - Conclusion to Court. # Demon Star (Inc) - ??? # The Villain's Journey (JL) -??? # Emperor Penguin (DC) - Ogilvy takes over from Riddler, 900 block/manbats # Throne of Atlantis (JL) - ??? # Death of the Family (BM/All) - Joker returns, splits up family # Gotham's Most Wanted (Inc) - Damian dies. # Mad takes place shortly after Damian's death and during Requiem/5 stages. (TDK) - Natalya dies. # Requiem for Damian (BM&R/all) - Batman goes through the stages of grief. # Clay (TDK) - not important. # The Wrath (DC) - distrust with GCPD, otherwise, not important. # The Big Burn (present) (BM&R) - Two-Face commits suicide. # Gothtopia (DC) - everyone gets gassed, not particularly important. # The Grid (JL) - ??? # Trinity War (JL) - leads into forever evil. # Forever Evil - Batman helps save the world. # Arkham War - during/before Forever Evil, all the baddies go loose in Gotham in Batman's absence. Bane replaces him. # Forever Heroes (JL) - Lex finds out his identity. # Batman Eternal - Gordon gets framed, Batman tries to solve the mystery and stop a gang war (so far...) confirmed events * at some point, some of the events of Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: Dark Victory occurred, as Carmine Falcone returns to the city five years later in Batman Eternal with the scars on his face from his encounter with Catwoman. * Knightfall - Bane is confirmed to have defeated the Batman by running him ragged (overtly mentioned in Batwoman Vol 2 22 and Batman Vol 2 23.4: Bane). * Contagion - Batman is confirmed to have thwarted Ra's al Ghul's attempt to poison Gotham with Ebola Gulf-A in Batman and Robin Vol 2 23.3: Ra's al Ghul and the League of Assassins. | Powers = | Abilities = * Indomitable Will: Although he has no superhuman powers, Batman's unstoppable determination and strength of will make him an extremely formidable opponent. This makes him able to function while tolerating massive amounts of physical pain, and also allows him to resist telepathy or mind control. His willpower is strong enough to operate a Green Lantern Ring when necessary.Green Lantern (Volume 4) #9, see excerpt * Intimidation: It is widely known that Batman has the ability to instill fear in others, even the people that know him best are intimidated by him. Even those who aren't afraid of the likes of Superman fear Batman. His ability to inspire great fear made him eligible for induction into the Sinestro Corps, although he was able to fight off the power ring's control.Green Lantern (Volume 4) #17, see excerpt * Interrogation: Batman is adept in interrogation techniques, often using law enforcement methods as well as torture. Several methods seen include hanging a person over the edge of a building by one leg or chaining a person upside down and beating them. He usually just plain uses his frightening appearance to get answers. "Fear is an excellent motivator" he once said. * Peak Human Conditioning: Through intense training, specialized diet, and biofeedback treatments, Batman represents the pinnacle of human physical prowess. His physical attributes exceeded that of any Olympic level athlete that has ever completed. Strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes and coordination are at peak human perfection. Batman began his physical and mental conditioning when he was 11 and then intense physical training and weight lifting at age 12. He has mastered full body control by the time he was 18. Bruce Wayne, since the age of 15, has created a strict diet to enable his body to develop and operate at its most proficient, along with biofeedback treatments (using portable/non portable machines to stimulate muscles to contraction). Batman has performed amazing physical feats due to his superior physique. He engaged in an intensive regular regimen of rigorous exercise (including aerobics, weight lifting, gymnastics, and simulated combat) to keep himself in peak condition, and has often defeated opponents whose size, strength, or other powers greatly exceeded his own. He has spent his entire life in pursuit of physical perfection and has attained it through constant intensive training and determination. :* Peak Human Strength: Batman regularly bench-presses at least 1000 lbs. during his exercise routine. , see excerpt :* Peak Human Reflexes: Bruce's reflexes were honed to such a degree that he has caught one of Green Arrow's arrows in mid flight when he tried to shoot him. He has also been able to dodge point blank gunfire. :* Peak Human Speed: He could run at speeds comparable to the finest competing athletes. :* Peak Human Endurance: His endurance was comparable to that of the finest Olympic Decathlon participant. His lung capacity was so great that he could hold his breath underwater for 3 minutes and 15 seconds. He can survive in the airless vacuum of space for exactly 27 seconds.JLA: Welcome to the Working Week :* Peak Human Agility: His agility was greater than that of a Chinese acrobat and an Olympic gold medalist gymnast. His main phase of movement was Parkour which he learned in France and used that to scale the cities rooftops in an acrobatic manner. :* Peak Human Durability: He has been shot numerous times, but wears Kevlar lined body armor. * Master Acrobat: He is proficient in gymnastics and acrobatics. * Master Martial Artist: Wayne is well trained in multiple martial arts. His primary form of combat is an idiosyncratic admixture of Tae Kwon Do, Judo, Muay Thai, Dragon Style Kung Fu, Boxing, Jujitsu, and Ninjitsu. Wayne is one of the finest human combatants Earth has ever known. :* Weapons Master: Through his martial arts training, he has become an expert on all melee weapons. Wayne has displayed exceptional sword fighting capability and proficiency with knives, sticks and various other weapons. He practices during his combat sessions to keep his skills intact, but he prefers unarmed combat. :* Master of Stealth: His Ninjutsu training has made him a master at stealth and capable of breaching high security facilities without being detected. :* Expert Marksman: Wayne is an expert marksman skilled. He is skilled with throwing projectile weapons, archery and firearms. He has been practicing such skills since the early days of his training and is almost on par with the Green Arrow in terms of accuracy. * Genius-Level Intellect: Batman is a brilliant, virtually peerless, detective, strategist, scientist, tactician, and commander; he is widely regarded as one of the keenest analytical minds on the planet. Given his lack of superpowers, he often uses cunning and planning to outwit his foes, rather than simply "out-fighting" them. :* Polymath: He has studied Biology, Technology, Mathematics, Physics, Mythology, Geography, & History. Gained degrees in Criminal Science, Forensics, Computer Science, Chemistry and Engineering by the time he was 21. He has mastered Diverse Environmental Training, Security Systems, and illusion/sleight of hand by the time he was 23. He gained even more degrees in Biology, Physics, Advanced Chemistry, and Technology by the time he was 25. He had learned Forensic Sciences, Medical Sciences, Expanded Computer and Engineering Sciences, and Expanded Device Pool use of personal powered armor and system, database creation on underworld crime bosses, rogue's gallery foes and other supervillains; improved material sciences for body armor and micro-machinery by the time he was 26. Has also learned Advanced New Development in Forensic and Medical Sciences. :* Master Detective: He is widely considered as the World's Greatest Detective, capable of observation, forensic investigation, and inductive and deductive reasoning of the highest caliber. Human intuition is an unlearnable trait and one of Batman's most effective tools. Given any mystery, he can arrive at the correct conclusions with a fraction of the data. :* Multi-lingual: He is able to speak Spanish, French, Latin, German, Japanese, English, Russian, Cantonese, Mandarin, Greek, Portuguese, Arabic, Sanskrit, Hindi, Thai and possibly more. :* Master Tactician and Strategist: He commonly utilizes cunning tactics to outwit his foes. He is an excellent leader and at times commands the Justice League and the Outsiders. :* Escapologist: He has been described as second only to Mister Miracle as an escape artist. He has been seen escaping from a Posey straitjacket in less than 52 seconds, and remarked afterwards that the time was way too slow for him. :* Aviation: Has been seen flying the various versions of the Batplanes with ease and flying a helicopter. :* Tracking: Trained in hunting techniques by African Bushmen (the Ghost Tribes of the Ten-eyed Brotherhood, among others). :* Master of Disguise: Has mastered the art of disguise by the time he was 23. Has further learned Expanded Disguise techniques by the time he was 26. Batman has many aliases he uses to infiltrate the underworld or just to go undercover in public situations. His current aliases are: Matches Malone, Thomas Quigley, Ragman, Detective Hawke, Sir Hemingford Grey, Frank Dixon, Gordon Selkirk, and Mr. Fledermaus. :* Ventriloquism: Batman is able to project his voice to sound as though it is coming from other places. :* Expert Mechanic and Vehicular Driver: Proficient at combat driving. Has learned improved vehicle designs. Was trained and proficient in basic vehicles operations. :*''Business Management'' | Strength = * Peak Human Strength: Batman engages in an intensive exercise regimen, and because of this, his strength, like all other physical attributes, is at the peak of human perfection. He is shown to be able to bench-press at least 1000 lbs. | Weaknesses = | Equipment = * Batsuit: The costume Batman wears is composed by Kevlar and a little percentage of titanium; it's bullet-proof and resistant to various types of attack (explosions, impacts, falls, etc...). It's also flame-retarding and insulating. The gloves and the boots are reinforced to rebound the impact of punches and kicks. The gloves have also some metallic blades on their sides. The cape is super-light and it can be used to glide. The mask has a little percentage of lead, which shields the face of Batman from x-ray powers or x-ray technology, and incorporates an infrared and night vision viewer, auditory sensors and a sonar. The mask is accessorized with some security systems (aggravating gas, electric blasts, etc.), like the utility belt, and integrates a transmitter receiver device de voice and video. * Utility Belt: Batman keeps most of his personal field equipment in a signature piece of apparel, a yellow utility belt.The utility belt has a button to call the car in a few appearances on Justice League, and a command for teleportation. Over the years it has contained items such as plastic explosives, nerve toxins, batarangs, smoke bombs, a fingerprint kit, a cutting tool, a grappling hook gun, torches, and a "re-breather" breathing device. Superman had entrusted Batman with a ring made of kryptonite, to be used should the Man of Steel ever need to be reined in (due to being mind-controlled by a villain, etc.). The kryptonite ring is contained in a lead pocket, in order to shield Batman from its radiations. The belt has also its own automatic security systems. | Transportation = * Batboat * Batcycle * Batmobile * Batplane | Weapons = Batarangs (several different types), small explosives, smoke and tear gas pellets, taser device. | Notes = | Trivia = | Recommended = | Wikipedia = | Links = }}